Abstract

We have measured the spectral absorption of water from 340-640 nm using a laser photothermal technique. Transmissive techniques have generally been used to measure the spectral absorption of water but such measurements require corrections for scattering. Because of the inherent freedom from these effects, photothermal spectroscopy is ideally suited to this problem. In the past, many absorption meters have been calibrated at only one wavelength; our photothermal absorption meter has been calibrated at every measurement wavelength (every 10 nm). The measurements made in this study indicate that the absorption of water in the blue and violet spectral regions is lower than previously thought.

© 1991 Optical Society of America